Something in The Rain Episode 7 and 8 Review

The hilarious thing is that after finishing Episode 5 and 6, I went onto catch up with my other dramas, such as the really innocent A Poem A Day – and I was like, oh I think perhaps I like innocent shows better (more on this later). Then Episode 7 and 8 happened and now I’m just who am I kidding yo, no one escapes the power of Jung Hae In.

I know the subtitles are coming out really slowly, so for those who just want a summary of what went down in Episode 7 and 8, here’s a quick recap conjured out from my memories. In these 2 episodes, we finally settle the Ex. Due to the police station incident, Seung Ho realises the relationship between his sister and Joon Hee. He isn’t happy but he goes for a quiet and broody drinks session with Joon Hee later on, and grumpily accepts the relationship. The stupid Ex has the gall to call out Jin Ah’s father and demand for an apology, and in his utterly disrespectful treatment of the dad, the dad finds out that his daughter is dating Joon Hee. He stands up for his daughter – after all, the Ex cheated first, but drinks himself drunk later on out of sadness. I’m not sure if he’s drinking because of the relationship, or because he’s sad that his daughter doesn’t dare to confide in her parents. In any case, Best Dad award definitely goes to him.

As I wished, the tension with the Ex finally culminates in one incident, when Jin Ah gets into his car so that they can settle the phone issue. Apparently you can open phone lines together as a couple and if you want to terminate that or change your phone, you need the name of the person the line was under. In this case it was the Ex’s. But the Ex grows a little crazy and threatens to kill both of them in a car crash. Joon Hee gets this sixth sense that Jin Ah is in trouble and manages to get the Ex’s number. His call intensifies the Ex’s anger and Jin Ah, at the same time, tries to get control of the wheel and this ends up in a crash. Thankfully, both are not seriously injured, but I think this crash also symbolically ends their relationship for good.

The scene where Joon Hee rushes into the CT scan room to give Jin Ah a hug is a really intimate scene that I appreciate. There she is changing her clothes, but Joon Hee obviously doesn’t care about decorum and this shows even more that the physical and emotional intimacy that the couple enjoys is real. He’s angry but in that moment of seeing Jin Ah being okay, his anger melts away and he was honestly just freaking scared inside that something happened to Jin Ah. This seals their relationship and they decide to make their relationship public. Jin Ah wants to be the one to tell her parents and Kyung Sun, but unfortunately, one day, Joon Hee leaves his sketchpad at home and Kyung Sun sees the multiple sketches of Jin Ah he drew.

I have mixed feelings about the show and it’s not entirely logical. But I will try to explain. I love this show for being very relatable in that the couple’s interactions are one of the most realistic I’ve seen. Joon Hee isn’t perfect, but he is close to being a perfect boyfriend that you kinda really want – he’s supportive, he’s incredibly nice, but at the same time he has a temper. He’s human. I enjoy the drama which drives their relationship and yet also, how grounded they are. However, I think it is so relatable that after stepping back and taking a breather from the show, I realise it wasn’t something refreshing that I can rest my mind after a tiring day. A Poem A Day is that light-hearted rom-com if you want (at least in the current batch of shows), but when I watch Something in The Rain, it reminds me too much of reality that it doesn’t really feel like an escape from reality.

As for my thoughts for this episode, I like how they kinda touch on the realistic issue of Exes. Most shows don’t really deal with this – the leads either were in one long-term previous relationship, had a crush, or hasn’t really loved at all. In this case, both leads have had a healthy dose of exes, did a lot of things with them and this is how it is like for many couples in reality too. The question is how far you have gone with them and how much you loved them. To be honest, it is a question I grapple with sometimes looking at the people I know – how can you say that you love this one so much, but yet move on, and then love another supposedly just as much or more? But Something in The Rain shows that it’s possible – there’s nothing wrong with giving your all for the relationship you were in at that time, and that doesn’t mean that you can’t love someone else even more in the next relationship. People probably need different people at different points in their lives, which is why Jin Ah and Joon Hee never really had that spark going until this part of their lives. Jin Ah has gone all the way (sexually) and even opened accounts with the Ex, but that was something the 33-year-old (or 34) her did, and it shouldn’t matter how Joon Hee sees her right now. That’s exactly what Joon Hee thinks, and this sense of maturity in him is really, really charismatic.

I was also thinking about the family issue and to me, I think that Jin Ah might also never really have seen Joon Hee as a blood brother in that sense. Joon Hee to Seung Ho yes, and Jin Ah to Kyung Sun, but probably not across the guy and the girl. I’m just extrapolating from my own experiences of growing up with childhood friends, because even if I saw my friend as a sister, I never quite see her brother as my real brother. It makes sense because I hung out most with the girl. I grew up with the girl. So yes, in this case I guess the family members can be put off that Jin Ah is hitting on a supposedly ‘brother’, but really I think she probably always just treats him like a little boy and not necessarily a sibling.

Oh yes, Jin Ah says “I love you” in a recording when Joon Hee insists that she used his phone temporarily. The way Joon Hee’s eyes well up with happy tears is so touching. Also loved how Joon Hee teared up in the car after fetching Jin Ah from the hospital because now that he calmed down, he realised just how much fear he was in trying to search for Jin Ah. I wish I could do actual recaps for this show just to immortalise these moments, but I guess reviews are better than nothing!

I’m not quite sure what other side issues are there left to deal with since the Ex is gone, but Joon Hee rejected a posting to China because he wants to stay in Korea with Jin Ah. Might this be a side plot? Also now that Kyung Sun is privy to the relationship, I can’t wait to see how that unfolds!